Closing post
Time to wrap up….
Hiring across the US economy moderated in January, but the labor market continued to grow at a steady pace during the transition period between Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s presidencies.
New data from the labor department released on Friday showed 143,000 jobs added to the economy in January, short of the 168,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate remained steady at a relatively low 4%, edging slightly downward from 4.1% in December.
‘Stagflation’ fears have risen after the Bank of England cut its growth forecast and warns of price rises yesterday.
Today, the Bank’s chief economist said it was too early to declare ‘job done’ in the battle to deflate the economy.
In other news…
Global food commodity prices fell in January, led by sharp falls in sugar and vegetable oils
BoE governor Andrew Bailey has told the BBC that the US must continue to support the IMF and the World Bank
India has cut interest rates for the first time in five years
Hong Kong will complain to the WTO over the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump
UK house prices bounced upwards in January to a record high as many buyers rushed to complete deals before a stamp duty increase this spring, according to one of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders.
Two former senior figures at bankrupt Woking council are to be investigated by the UK’s accounting watchdog after it racked up more than £2bn in debt on a failed investment spree.
And…the gambling regulator has accidentally handed over more than 4,000 sensitive documents to lawyers acting for the media tycoon Richard Desmond, in an “unprecedented” blunder during its legal battle over the £6.4bn national lottery contract, the Guardian understands.
Goodnight. GW
Updated
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson has confirmed that some “talented people” will be lost through its IT shake-up, saying:
“To achieve the ambitious strategy we launched in February 2022 and deliver better service to our customers, we are transforming our business. We are excited about the progress we have made, which is already delivering benefits. As we remain focused on achieving engineering excellence and building highly skilled tech teams as we move faster forward to deliver great outcomes for our customers, we are creating 1200 net new roles.
“Making changes means not only creating new roles and upskilling colleagues but also saying goodbye to talented people who have been part of the Group’s success in the past. Where that is the case, we will do everything we can to support them with the changes recently announced. We know change can be uncomfortable, but we are excited about the opportunities ahead as we propel forward to achieve our growth ambitions and delivering exceptional customer experiences.”
